"Empty shipyard and suicides as 'Hyundai Town' grapples with grim future
ULSAN, South Korea: When Lee Dong-hee came to Ulsan to work for Hyundai Heavy Industries five years ago, shipyards in the city known as Hyundai Town operated day and night and workers could make triple South Korea's annual average salary.
But the 52-year-old was laid off in January, joining some 27,000 workers and subcontractors who lost their jobs at Hyundai Heavy between 2015 and 2017 as ship orders plunged.
To support their family, Lee's wife took a minimum wage job at a Hyundai Motor supplier. His 20-year-old daughter, who entered a Hyundai Heavy-affiliated university hoping to land a job in Ulsan, is now looking for work elsewhere.
The Lee family's fortunes mirror the decline of Ulsan, which is now reeling from Chinese competition, rising labor costs and its over-reliance on Hyundai - one of the giant, family-run conglomerates or chaebol that dominate South Korea.
Generations of Hyundai workers like Lee powered South Korea's transformation from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse, making the southeastern port of Ulsan the country's richest city by 2007.
But some experts say the chaebols have now become complacent and risk averse, failing to keep pace with their overseas competitors."
This story should b familiar to the Yankee voters who voted for Donald Trump in the so-called "rust belt" where towns n even cities whose fortune had waned so much as industries once dominant in those places became uncompetitive or simply irrelevant! e.g. coals, steels, etc!
The pains r also familiar with the workers n biz owners in the oil n gas marine industries in Sgp in the last 2-3 yrs when oil prices plummet to under USD40 making oil explorations no longer economically viable n triggering refusal to take deliveries of completed oil rigs, related vessels n hosts of upstream n downstream services n goods. Many had to retrench n many could not pay interests for the debts taken to fund expansions just a few yrs back!!
For the Ulsan folks, they see recovery less likely. Same with the rust belt American folks. While the Sgp O&G marines folks, there is a ray if hope as oil price climbed up to USD70. Maybe it will last n give the breath of life to these "dying" biz n their workers, for the next 5-10 yrs?
If that is the case, there is a chance to engineer a planned change. To diversity into non-oil industries. e.g. solar, wind n other type of industries. Will all be "saved"? Maybe not. At least they know what r possible.
Sgp as a nation has diversification plan. It has the reserves to fund the planned change. The citizens need to hv the same diversification mindset too n plan ahead for themselves besides relying on the government.
When there is no resources, no one can help you really.
The happy problem is Sgp gov has a huge reserves n its people do hv expectations that help must b provided to them should they fall in bad time due to "structural change" n transition were not available!!
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